Agricultural infrastructure and its implications on sustainability of smallholder mango farming in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, agricultural infrastructure plays a vital role in economic growth. Developing agricultural infrastructure improves livelihoods and sustainable, environmentally friendly agriculture. Despite its importance for livelihood, growth, and development, smallholder farming competitiveness and agricultural infrastructure adoption in Africa remain limited. Inadequate infrastructure can be a significant constraint to growth and productivity. This study examined agricultural infrastructure and its implication on sustainability of smallholder mango farming in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to: examine the agricultural infrastructure strategies adopted, evaluate the nature of stakeholder involvement in agricultural support, assess the effects of agricultural infrastructure on sustainable smallholding and establish the challenges on the use of agricultural infrastructure. The scope of this study was restricted to the mango growing areas of Elgeyo Marakwet County. The research focused on agricultural infrastructure and its impact on the ability to improve livelihoods. The study was anchored on Sustainable Livelihood theory by the Department for International Development (DFID). The study adopted mixed methods approach utilizing cross- sectional survey design. Simple random sampling was applied to select a sample size of 370 small holder mango farmers from a total population of 9200; purposely selected 10 key informants and carried out 3 FGDs. Data collection instruments included questionnaires, interview schedules, observation, document reviews and focus group discussions. Descriptive statistics were analyzed through frequencies, percentages and means. Inferential statistics employed, Chi-square test, and regression analysis .Qualitative data was analyzed thematically, where labels were assigned to various categories and themes. The findings indicate that the small holder farmers are using agricultural infrastructure which include use of dominant seeds apple (74.3%), spraying of mangoes (55.4%), training (80%), access of information from extension officers 53.4%, and the main source of financing was savings (68.9%.).The role of various stakeholders in agricultural support was low on provision of subsidized inputs for farmers, water and electricity, roads infrastructure, prices and marketing of the mangoes and streamlining of mango price (Mean=1.40,SD=0.79,Skewness= 2.62, Kurtosis=7.5). Further, Chi-Square values were statistically significant for the items tested F (3,350) = 10 .43, P< 0.05) indicating that agricultural infrastructure which consist of physical infrastructure, input based infrastructure, resource based infrastructure and institutional based infrastructure significantly affected the output enhancing agricultural sustainability .Several challenges were associated with use of agricultural infrastructure include the lack of certified seeds, availability of quality planting seeds, high price and lack of timely availability of fertilizers. The Principal Component Analysis indicates that the two components accounted for about 57.98% of the variance. It was concluded that stakeholder’s involvement in agricultural support is low; use of agricultural infrastructure is associated with several benefits and challenges. The study proposes creating a business-friendly environment for smallholder mango growers and making small-scale farming appealing to younger generations, as well as improving and harmonizing stakeholders' roles in inputs, infrastructure, price regulation, marketing, and community collaboration. Integrating proper policies and agricultural infrastructure practices will increase their utilization and sustainability